Application of Risk Concepts to Wildlife Management: Special Issue Introduction

Abstract

The degree to which professionals can improve wildlife management processes and outcomes depends in part on their ability to integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines, including those that detail how people interpret and respond to wildlife-related risks. Better integration of risk considerations into wildlife management can advance managers' understanding of stakeholders and the knowledge base used for decision-making. This article introduces a special issue of Human Dimensions of Wildlife focused on risk concepts and their application to wildlife management. We draw on extant literature, case studies, and our collective scholarship to define risk and its relevance to wildlife management. We then discuss decision-making under risk and key characteristics influencing the quality of wildlife management decisions. Finally, we describe how wildlife managers can incorporate risk considerations into structured decision-making processes to optimize management outcomes. The concepts and theories described here provide background and context for the articles that follow in this issue.

Keywords:

• risk perception
• risk communication
• risk management
• structured decision-making
• wildlife management